Entrepreneurship - I really am obsessed, entranced, and totally immersed in all its charms. It’s the only kind of roller-coaster ride I truly enjoy. I love the fire and drive of a real entrepreneur, that person who “has an undertaking” and is determined to see it through. I love playing a part in innovation, in bringing value into the world in as many unique ways as there are unique people. But what I do NOT love is watching an entrepreneur go through the pain of trying to fit just ONE MORE hat onto a head that’s already overloaded. So here’s a love tap for all you “I can do it ALL” entrepreneurs. Yes, you can. You’re smart, you’re passionate, you’re committed, and you’re willing to learn anything and do anything necessary to make your business a success. Your motto is “Whatever it takes” and you take that seriously. But it doesn’t matter how hard you’re willing to work, or even how good you get at wearing all of the hats. You won’t ever be the only person you need in your business. Here’s why: You know that pretty much every trait has a continuum from one extreme to another, right? Yin to yang. Introvert to extrovert. Perfect pitch to tone deaf. Most people, for any of those characteristics, fall somewhere along the continuum. Not all the way to one extreme or to the other. So let’s take a VERY simplified look at two characteristics that are VITAL for a successful business — Innovation, and Replication. Without innovation there is no new value being introduced. No competitive edge, no way...

“How do I fit everything I want to accomplish into this lifetime?” I asked for that question. Well, not for that one specifically, but when I had a whim to ask my Facebook family what they’d like for me to address in my next newsletter, this is the challenge that the higher power that likes to play a practical joke on me now and again thought I needed to be hit with. So for Susan, who says that this question is one she thinks about all the time, and for myself and for you, I’ll do my best to meet that challenge. It seemed to me that there are two variables we need to examine – “want” and “this lifetime.” Because “want” is a really big word, encompassing desires that range from “I want to get the yard mowed this weekend” to “I want to make a lasting impact on the huge number of people who feel alone and unappreciated in this world.” So when we ask how to accomplish everything we want to accomplish in this one lifetime that we are aware of living, the easy answer is, “want less.” But that isn’t my answer. That is an answer of limitation and we aren’t going to accept that. So what about that other variable, “this lifetime?” We cannot know the size of that one, it’s possible now to live an active life well past 100 years of age, and it’s also possible to die unexpectedly without reaching another birthday. Since we cannot measure the time of this lifetime, it becomes tempting to look at other limitations, like energy, physical...